Queridos hermanos: con la fiesta del Bautismo de Jesús en el Jordán, dábamos fin a las fiestas de Navidad; pero todavía no se han terminado los “signos de Jesús”, o epifanías, que significa “manifestación”, a través de las cuales Jesús, el Hijo de Dios y de María, nacido en Belén, se manifiesta a aquellos extraños personajes “venidos de Oriente”, anunciando a “todo el mundo” que Dios se ha hecho presente en nuestra Historia. 

Project SAVE (Stopping Abuse through Victim Empowerment), a ministry of Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Catholic Charities for the past 25 years, helps abuse victims in Orleans Parish by offering free legal services with no income requirement. Attorney Allyson Tuttle, program director, says two staff attorneys represent approximately 175 females (and a few males) annually in civil district court to obtain restraining orders and protective orders. Project SAVE’s website states that in 2017, “26 percent of all Orleans Parish domestic violence protective orders were obtained through Project SAVE’s two attorneys.” “We are the emergency room to get people interim protection to get them back on their feet,” Tuttle said. 

Daughters of Charity Health Centers (DCHC) will offer free dental services for Give Kids A Smile Day, on Feb. 2 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Carrollton health center, 3201 South Carrollton Ave., New Orleans. Services for children, ages 2 to 17, include free dental screenings, fluoride treatments and more. The event also will include face painting, balloon art, story time, an appearance by Zippy the Zebra and various giveaways. Participants are asked to register by Jan. 30 by calling 483-8370.

Jason and Elise Angelette, codirectors of the Faith and Marriage Apostolate of the Willwoods Community, had just been given the sobering diagnosis by their obstetrician: Ten weeks pregnant with twins, Elise was in the process of miscarriage. For weeks, the Angelettes had excitedly told their eldest child, then 5-year-old Bella, that she and her sister Sophia were going to be “big sisters” once again. “She knew what it meant to be a big sister,” Jason Angelette told the Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference in Kenner last week, adding that Bella’s excitement grew day by day as she told her friends.

WWII historian and author Ron Drez Sr. – who will lead the Clarion Herald’s visit to the beaches of Normandy during a June 11-23 pilgrimage that will also include the shrines of France – explains why the Nazi war machine never suspected an Allied invasion in Normandy, how subterfuge by double agents foiled the Germans from making proper preparations and how the Normandy invasion differs from every other major campaign in military history. Videos

In fulfillment of a promise made by the Ursuline Sisters to honor Mary annually for her intercession in the unlikely American victory against the British in the Battle of New Orleans, Archbishop Gregory Aymond presided over the 204th Mass marking the Solemnity of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Jan. 8. During the Mass, celebrated in the Ursuline Sisters’ national shrine, Archbishop Aymond noted that we still need Our Lady of Prompt Succor’s intercession in “the battles of today,” which include polarized discourse and growing national intolerance, a divided church, in which some are quick to judge others’ spirituality, and discord within families. “It’s easier to see the differences among us more than our likenesses,” the archbishop said. “Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us, that we may become the united family that your Son calls us to be.”

Divine Word Father Jerome G. LeDoux, the longtime pastor of St. Augustine Church in New Orleans, died Jan. 7 in Lafayette following heart surgery. He was 88 and had served as a priest for 61 years. The native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, entered the Divine Word High School Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, at the age of 13 in 1943, began novitiate studies at the Divine Word Seminary in Techny, Illinois, in 1947 and took first vows in 1949. He attended Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa, and then St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis, taking final vows in 1957. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 11, 1957.

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO) hosted a celebration Dec. 6, to celebrate a decade of services to the elderly with its PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) GNO Centers, its supporters of PACE as well as the expansion to full-time services at Hope Haven at St. John Bosco PACE Center, at 1101 Barataria Blvd., in Marrero. PACE GNO is an affiliated ministry of CCANO. The St. John Bosco PACE Center had been operating three days a week – Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. – since its inception in 2014 as an adult health center for the elderly. A $1.6 million renovation had been completed at that time to the former Hope Haven site, originally established by Msgr. Peter Wynhoven in 1925 to shelter and educate orphans and children in need.

Wherever we look, anger is on the rise and is calling for a deeper look at its anatomy. Anger, which is one of the seven capital sins, is often painted as evil. Psychologists would advise, however, that we take a closer look at it before condemning it completely. Anger can be good when it addresses a disorder that needs immediate attention. My dad was a very patient man and could put up with almost anything. One day his anger stunned me when he caught a dishonest merchant trying to pull the wool over his eyes. The confrontation that followed corrected the situation and hopefully helped the merchant to reconsider his honesty.

The repurposing of the former St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church property on Bayou Road has resulted in a new home for Southern Repertory Theatre as well as rental space for nonprofits and the Waldorf School. Southern Rep, which has used the former St. Rose de Lima Church space in some way for the past two years, will have an inaugural ball Jan. 19 beginning at 4 p.m. with the ringing of the bells in the former church bell tower. Cocktails will follow from the new Sanctuary bar (constructed of materials from the confessional, Communion rail and other church elements), rotating entertainment and tours of the facility until 10 p.m. “I wanted to have something that was definitely about dancing, music and dressing up,” said Aimée Hayes, Southern Rep Theatre’s producing artistic director. “It’s a chance for  us to show off Southern Rep to everyone and have a good time.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) –The clerical abuse crisis and the “crisis of credibility” it created for the U.S. bishops have led to serious divisions within the U.S. church and to a temptation to look for administrative solutions to problems that go much deeper, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops as they met Jan. 2-8 in retreat near Chicago. Without a clear and decisive focus on spiritual conversion and Gospel-inspired ways of responding to victims and exercising ministry, “everything we do risks being tainted by self-referentiality, self-preservation and defensiveness, and thus doomed from the start,” the pope wrote.

For decades I have observed the erosion of our religious traditions, our Judeo-Christian heritage and our history and culture. One small aspect of this is our celebration of the Feast of the Magi – the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the Epiphany, the arrival of the three kings from the East. As a child, I looked forward to the day when the beautiful Kings’ cake was placed on the table, richly decorated in purple (royalty), gold (riches) and green (faith), heralding the arrival of the newborn King. I knew I would not see another delicious Kings’ cake until the next year. The  French tradition of serving “la Galette des Rois” dates back to the 14th century. The day also marks the beginning of the Mardi Gras season, and the colors were later adopted as the colors of Mardi Gras.

Quick reminder for those of us who attend Mass regularly. Many people are going to join us on Dec. 24 and 25 who don’t normally come to church. They will take our parking spots, our usual pews, our hymnals and our coat hooks.

An inaugural scholarship program targeting student-leaders at St. Augustine High hopes to foster ties between the local African-American and Jewish communities.

Seeking ways to cultivate unity in today’s mixed up world? Find inspiration Jan. 10-12 at the 2019 Go! Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference at the Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams Blvd., in Kenner.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The fundamental rights of all human beings, especially the most vulnerable, must be respected and protected in every situation, Pope Francis said, marking Human Rights Day, Dec. 10.

Last spring, as Father Peter Finney III was nearing Blessed Trinity Church during the annual “Good Friday Walk” to more than a dozen churches, his eyes were drawn across Broad Street to an elevated, fire-engine red cabinet outside Broadmoor Community Church.

Mount Carmel’s Ellie Holzman, the Outstanding Player of the Division I state volleyball tournament, was one of five Cubs to sign college scholarships last week when she chose the University of Illinois. Also signing were 

At the 2018 Ascension Leadership Convovation in Dallas, Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans (DCSNO) received the “Ascension Living the Mission and Values Award.” Pictured, from left, are: Daughter of Charity Sister Maureen McGuire, executive vice president, Mission Integration, Ascension; Anthony Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, president and CEO, Ascension;

Nearly 300 University of Holy Cross alumni, supporters and friends gathered recently at the Metairie Country Club to hear Saints and Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha at the university’s Annual Prayer Breakfast. Lauscha shared his spiritual journey of working with the city’s two winning professional sports teams and the positive impact the teams have on the community.